New Bookshop - the Literature Laboratory

 

No sooner has the new bookshop leaflet come out than it's out of date!  This is the Literature Laboratory, next to Clock Tower Books and opposite the Butter Market, which will be selling children's books and, I think, doing projects with children, too.

Saturday Afternoon at the Festival

 I've been enjoying the podcast Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, so I was keen to go to the free event at the Festival.  This time I was prepared for the crowds - I took a small folding stool along, and positioned myself outside the packed out marquee where I could hear everything but not see the stage (so, just like radio, then!).  The subject was Demeter, and Natalie Haynes took us through the original myth of Persephone, in which Zeus and Hades are far more creepy than later versions.  Also, bonus first named female comedian in history (or myth), Iambe, who tells jokes until Demeter can smile again.

Later in the marquee, there was a broadcast of You're Dead to Me, the history podcast.

I wandered off afterwards in search of something to drink, and ended up paying £4.50 for a half of cider (Festival Ferret from the Festival Bar) but at least I got to keep the decorative plastic glass.

I also bought a three pack of beer from Woofy's Brewery near Ross-on-Wye - they've brewed a special limited edition amber ale for the Festival, called Bibliophile, which I'm drinking now, and it's very pleasant.  I have yet to try the porter and the IPA.

Then I wandered round the stalls for a while (and had a Shepherds ice cream) until it was time for the event I had a ticket for - Stephen Moffat, Lucy Caldwell and Rob Appleby in conversation.  I didn't catch the name of the moderator of the panel, but I think he was from Comma Press, who published Collison: stories from the science of CERN.  The idea behind the book was to pair a writer with a scientist at CERN.  The scientist would tell the writer about the theories they were working on, and the writer would then write a short story about it.  Stephen Moffat and Lucy Caldwell were two of the writers involved, and Rob Appleby is one of the astrophysicists, and they talked about visiting CERN.  Lucy compared living there to some of the work she's been doing with young women who have vocations to enclosed monastic orders in Ireland - the living quarters being like monastic cells, and the sense of devotion to something greater than themselves.  They also talked about scientists who have spent their entire careers in one area of research - and if they succeed in making a breakthrough, they're likely to get a Nobel prize, but they also might spend 30 years working in obscurity, without discovering any new theories about the universe.  

Stephen Moffat read a portion of his story based on the theory of dark matter, about a person who had been wiped out of existence - in fact, had never existed at all - and added at the end that, if we'd paid a bit more for tickets, we could have got Peter Capaldi to read it!  Lucy Caldwell's reading was also based on the theory of dark matter, and involved a scientist going home to his family in Belfast.

Rob Appleby pointed out that all the scientific endeavour over the last few hundred years has led to us (as a species) learning about 5% of all matter in the universe.  There's 95% of stuff out there that we really know very little about, and that includes dark matter.  He seemed quite excited by this thought, as it means we have so much yet to discover.

It was a really interesting discussion, and it seems that Comma Press may be doing more similar collaborations in the future.

At the Festival Site

 I went up to the Festival site yesterday with the intention of seeing the free live broadcast of the Media Show in the Marquee near the entrance.  However, when I got there fifteen minutes before the start of the show, the seats were already full, so I wandered off to look at the stalls around the site instead.

This was at the Greenpeace stall.  The turtle is made of old tires!  Apparently, old tires are sent to the Gambia, where they burn them to get at the metals embedded within the rubber, so rather than burn the tires, they are being encouraged to make them into artworks like this, or practical things like the tire armchair that was also on the stall.

Just a few stalls along was Plantlife.  They run wildlife reserves across the country with an emphasis on rare species.  As the chap at the stall said, people usually haven't heard of them - but they have heard of NoMowMay, which is their campaign.

I had a look at the Oxfam bookshop, briefly.  I used to be able to take away carrier bags full of books, but they have raised their prices rather too much for me to be able to do that now.

There was another second hand bookshop on site, run by the National Trust, which had an interesting selection, including some quite rare books (I noticed a book on ciphers that they wanted £70 for!).

A choir was singing outside the Festival Bookshop, from Hereford College of Arts.  I found an interesting book there by Juno Dawson (I recognised the name because she's written for Doctor Who) called Gender Games.  She's in a panel talking about witches at the Festival.

I had a chat with one of the stewards, too.  He's been stewarding at the Festival for years, and when I wandered on, he went to stand at the back of the talk he was stewarding.  When I saw him later, he said the talk had been very good, but the speaker hadn't made any concessions to the youth of his audience - it being Schools Day for secondary schools. 

I went back to the Marquee and listened to the discussion for a while from the edge of the tent - the sides were open, but by then my back was starting to ache, so I didn't stay long.

Festival Friday

 The school buses were at the Festival yesterday - traffic chaos on Broad Street, and more police officers than we usually see for the rest of the year!

I now live over the Old Electric Shop, so I could hear the music from their late opening last night.  In previous years, my house was sheltered from most of the noise in the evenings, but I'm not complaining - the music was pleasant, and didn't go on too late into the night.

A couple of the outbuildings of the Castle have things happening in them - there's a shop selling sheep-themed tshirts and so on, and an exhibition I only got a glimpse of because they hadn't quite opened when I wandered through.

There's bric-a-brac and vintage clothes in the Buttermarket today, and the marquee is going up for Fair in the Square over the weekend.

Later on, I'm ambling up to the Festival site.

And the new Booksellers leaflet is out!  I was in Broad Street Books when Derek Addyman delivered them.  This year, they are black and orange.

Ready for the Festival

 There's a big sign saying "BAR" in the Honesty Garden at the Castle, with tables and chairs out ready.

Up above that, on the Castle wall, is a rather cryptic sign:

"Love detonates this distance between us to ash holds your flooded heart in the fire of night".

(I think there should probably be punctuation between "ash" and "holds").

Meanwhile, in the Walled Garden on Belmont Road, the Scouts are having a plant sale on Saturday, and after that it's going to be a Secret Wine Bar!

An art exhibition has gone up around the Cinema Bookshop, done by the people from the Art Gallery across the road, plus giant dice and wooden figures in the garden (and a sign asking people to please not roll the dice or sit on them!).

The Addyman Annexe is cutting it a bit fine with the preparations - when I passed this evening, all the books were out of the window, with a new Festival display yet to appear.

Tomorrow is Schools Day at the Festival, but the day after that, everything starts in earnest.

No Mow May

 

I came across this sign on Forest Road, explaining why Powys County Council are not mowing the verges at the moment - it's not to save money; it's for the benefit of wildlife.

I must say the verge looks lovely, full of buttercups and purple vetch and other flowers.

Royal Welsh Regiment in Hay

 

The Royal Welsh Regiment (with their goat mascot and regimental band) marched through the streets of Hay yesterday, to celebrate their Freedom of the County.  There was a ceremony and speeches on the Castle lawn.  Gareth Ratcliffe was there (before he went off to the football pitch later in the afternoon) and a chap who was resplendent in black velvet breeches and tail coat, who may have been the Lord Lieutenant of the County (or something similar).  Some of the streets in the middle of town, and the town square, were closed for the parade.

[Edited to add: Chatting in the Post Office this morning, I discovered that the goat is called Shenkin, and holds the rank of lance-corporal, because he has participated in three parades in front of royalty!]

Refurbishment for Old House in Hereford

 The Old House, the black and white building in the square in the middle of Hereford, needs to be refurbished, and a local Hay firm has been chosen to do the work.  

Splitlath started out as barge builders in Stourbridge in 1867, and is still owned by the same family.  These days, they specialise in the conservation of historic buildings.

They will be repairing the woodwork of the Old House, including frame, windows, bargeboards, and finials.

Griots Poetry at the Globe

 Griots Poetry are hosting the Farrago Poetry UK Slam 2024 UK Qualifier at the Globe on Sunday 21st May at 7pm.

The founder of the Farrago Poetry Slam, John Paul O'Neill, will be leading a Masterclass from 3pm to 5pm that afternoon.

There are two special guest local poets.

Cat Wyllie-Fox is the owner of the Sandwich Cellar on Backfold, and her first book of poems came out recently.

Kandace Siobhan Walker has Jamaican-Canadian, Saltwater Geechee and Welsh heritage, and writes poetry, fiction and non-fiction as well as creating installations and moving image works.  She's won several prizes for her work.  Kandace grew up in Llanigon, and Marva Jackson Lord of Griots Poetry is her mum!

Anyone wanting to compete in the Poetry Slam should register by email in advance, by next Saturday at the latest.  Entry is free, and the email is hello@griotspoetry.org  Places are limited!

Royal Welsh Regiment Marching Through Hay

 On Saturday 20th May, members of the Royal Welsh Regiment will be marching through Hay to re-affirm their freedom of the county.  The parade will also include the Royal Welsh Military Band and veterans and cadets.  The parade will start at the Oxford Road car park, go round to the cenotaph, and they will be ending their march in the grounds of Hay Castle, where there will be a short service.

To make way for the parade to pass safely, some of the roads in the middle of Hay will be closed to traffic.  The regiment will be arriving at the car park at 10.45am.

Watermill Weekend

 I've only just discovered that it is National Mill Weekend this weekend, when many historic mills throughout the country will be open to the public.

There are several watermills not far from Hay.  

They include the Court of Noke mill near Staunton on Arrow, where the water wheel still turns.

Clodock Mill near Longtown was a corn mill.  It's near Clodock Church, and the entrance is by the bridge over the River Monnow.  There is also a turbine nearby, generating electricity.

Fair Oak Farm near Bacton has a 17th century horse drawn cider mill.  It has been fully restored, and is again being used to produce cider - the only commercial horse driven cider mill in the country.  Here, there is the chance to sample the Fair Oak cider, and meet Featherstone, the apprentice mill horse.

Olchon House Farm Mill is another one near Longtown, originally used for grinding animal feed and working farm machinery.  It has been recently restored.

Pontynys Mill is not far from the Crown Inn in Longtown, and is a corn mill currently undergoing restoration.

Mordiford Mill is another corn mill undergoing restoration.

Rowlestone Mill will be turning a Victorian apple scratter - an alternative to a horse driven cider mill.

The Corn Mill at Michaelchurch Escley was working from the medieval period up until 1942.

The Waterworks Museum in Hereford will also be open, with a wide range of steam powered mills, pumps and engines.

Finally for Herefordshire, the Clover Mill Spa Retreat will be open at Cradley, another corn mill.

In Powys, Talgarth Mill will be open, which is always worth a visit (and the cafe is very good!), and also Pontysgawrhyd Mill near Meifod, on the River Vymwy near Welshpool.

(Information from the Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings website and Hereford Times)

The Last Cabbage Leaf?

 Botany and other Stories have just published their latest newspaper - and it may be their last.  (they are in the process of building a website!).

They usually choose a theme for each issue, and the theme for this one is paper.  Hay is very dependent on paper, in the form of second hand books, but we don't usually think much about the paper they are made from.  So they start with a history of paper, from Ancient Egyptian papyrus to modern wood pulp (inspired by a French scientist called Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur, from his observations of wasps' nests).  

The centre spread shows the polluting impact of paper, including bleaching the paper, and the vast number of paper coffee cups that are thrown away every year - as well as the number of trees that are cut down each year to make paper to print new books.  It's a sobering read.

There is also a review of Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal, and a local lady talks about kapok, the flowering tree she remembers from her childhood in China.

Getting Ready for the Festival

 So the Coronation is over, and now we only have a little while to prepare for Hay Festival (and How the Light Gets In at the other end of town).

Bunting is already up, of course, and the tent village is being built in the field at the edge of town for the Festival site.  At work, I've been seeking out books by authors who will be appearing at the Festival to go on display (I know exactly where all our Simon Schama books are - he comes every year!).  

I've also bought my ticket - I always go to at least one event, and this year it will be Steven Moffat talking to Lucy Caldwell and Rob Appleby about how science becomes fiction.  Steven Moffat is probably best known for his association with Doctor Who and Sherlock (and there's lots of stuff that is at least vaguely scientific in Doctor Who!).

And earlier in the day, I'll be going to a free event - Radio 4 are recording Natalie Haynes Stands up for the Classics.  I've really been enjoying the podcasts of this series, so I'd like to see a live performance.

And speaking of free performances, the Hay Shantymen will be singing on Tuesday 30th May (though, sadly, I'll be at work that day).

Coronation Day

 The weather is wet and miserable, but the Saturday Market is full of really good stalls, with plants and specialist tea and wicker baskets and so on.  In the middle of the market is a covered table where children were colouring in crowns, and at one end is a big screen under an awning showing the Coronation live.  I got there just as the coach was heading for the Abbey, escorted by the horse guards.  

The Tudor Brewery man had brought a couple of boxes of beer to drink on the spot, left over from another festival he'd been to, and he was right by the screen so there may be some interest in that later on.

The British Legion is showing the Coronation all day, too (all welcome!).

In the Buttermarket is the Mad Hatters Craft Fair, again with lots of interesting crafts on sale, so there's plenty to do in the middle of town, despite the weather.

I met Tim the Gardener, who was heading home to hibernate until all the fuss was over - he wanted to go to the butchers', but they're closed today so the family can sit at home and watch the Coronation on TV.

Haircut for the King

 

He's got to look good for his big day!  This is the window display at Kutz Barbers for the coronation.

The Throne of Hay

 

Not everyone can get to London to the Coronation on Saturday, but anyone can sit on a throne in Hay every day!  Crown provided!